"EXTREME FRANKNESS"

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16373, 22 June 1927, Page 8

"EXTREME FRANKNESS"

NAVAL LIMITATIONS ' THE BRITISH PROPOSALS LORD JELLICOK'S COMMENTS. (Elec. Tel. Copyright—Uniknl Press Assn.} (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) (Keeeived dune 22, 1 p.m.) GENEVA, dune 2. Lord Jellicoe, interveiwed, offered the following comments on the British proposals at the Naval Limitations Conference, which, he said, were not only his personal opinions but those of the whole British delegation. "The essence of the British proposals is extreme frankness" he said. "1 cannot conceive a better method of arriving at a good result than each nation saying definitely what it wants and why it wants it—it* all the delegates will place nil their cards on the table and show each, other the exact position of their naval defence. We must he prepared to defend our demands for various numbers and types of vessels. The whole world knows that Britain's navy is a matter of defence of trade routes, without winch Britain could not exist and the Dominions and colonies could not market, their products. Britain in this respect is m a different position from the other countries. Japan is tho nearest to our position m her dependence on imports. "We can and are willing to show the world, what we need to defend the sea routes. We believe that if others do the same according to their own requirements it should eventually provide the basis for an agreement. Jt seems obvious to me that when we come to the details our first effort should be to reduce the size of ships in the different classes. We propose to reduce, battleships by 5000 tons, and cruisers, except those of 10,000 tons built under the Washington Treaty, to 7500 tons. "Anybody who recollected the prewar competitive shipbuilding must be convinced that- the British proposals contain the germ of an agreement. The system was recognised at Washington, it seems most logical to us to pursue the method and try to reduce other classes as well as battleships. For instance, most nations claim that the submarine is a defensive weapon., As such if should he considerably reduced in size. Nobody can possibly call a. submarine of 1200 or 1000 tons a defensive weapon. For coastal defence submarines do not need to bo anything approaching these sizes." Lord Jellicoe. endorsed entirely the British naval experts examination of the British, compared with the American and Japanese proposals. (The views of the British experts appear on page V.J STATISTICS TO BE EXCHANGED (British Official Wireless,) Hoc, 1 p.m. LONDON, June 21. A communique issued at Geneva states that the executive committee of the Naval Disarmament. Conference today decided, with a view to proper consideration of the proposals made by the United States, Britain and Japan, to form a (technical committee to exchange agreed statistics on the present cruiser, destroyer and submarine tonnage of each of the three Powers and,of the designed tonnage of these classes.